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The ride being tested: http://scripts.ad.nl/adtv/formulex/achtbaandrievliet.html

Sony's Cell has 8 chips but only 6 are working (Sony switched them off) at this time. Sony can activate the remaining 2 chips and this will give more power to the PS3 and thus creating games which looks like the "Spiderman and Gran Turismo" demo. At the end of the day it is not Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo who wins, it's the people who buy the machines and films. It gives everyone more choice and better technology. If you can buy all 3 machines, you won't loose out on anything.

Fantastic photo's, it is so nice for a Park to look so smart,clean and tidy, makes everyone want to come back and enjoy their surroundings. I want one of those T-Shirts with the animals doing a mooney.

I heard this Park has bought the "Comet" (are they the NAD ones) trains and wants to re-create a copy of the sadly-missed coaster , which is still SBNO at Lincoln Park. Anyone got any updated pic's of the "Comet" in it's current condition.

I'll get a 360 1st then save up and buy a PS3 when "Sony" do a price drop.

Update from the BBC Website: Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6501897.stm A man who skied nearly 200ft down the longest escalator on the London Underground has been condemned by police and transport officials. He launched himself down the 196ft (60m) escalator at Angel Tube station and filmed the stunt. The unidentified man then posted it on the YouTube video sharing website where it has received more than 100,000 hits. Transport for London (TfL) urged police to take the "strongest possible action" against any similar offenders. 'Reckless' stunt A TfL spokesman said: "This is a dangerous, stupid and irresponsible act that could have resulted in serious injury or death to not only the individual concerned, but other passengers." A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesman described the skier's antics as "naive and reckless". They urged the man to contact them so they could discuss the potential dangers of his stunt. A BTP spokesman said the video was thought to have been recorded about a year ago. He said under by-laws they could not prosecute after six months had lapsed. If someone had been injured, they would still have powers to prosecute under criminal law, the spokesman said. The video, filmed from the skier's head-mounted camera, shows him walking, going up the escalator, fitting his skis on and launching himself down at high speed. The escalator was clear at the time but passengers on opposite conveyors can be seen looking on, bemused. The film's producer said other people were not in danger as friends of the stuntman, a Norwegian national, had warned passengers away.

I watched this last night and I could not stop laughing at the stunts etc. I like the bit where the guy sat on a block of ice and his n**ts got stuck, his friend pushed him off. Fighting a snake in a ball pit was funny Anyone else like the film or thought it was totally silly...?

I will be saving £100 a week so I can buy either a 360 or PS3 or even both in a few months time. I have been buying the playstation brand since 1994 when PS1 arrived in the UK, I paid £300 for the system. I am biased towards Sony but if anyone thinks the 360 is worth getting then let me know. The only games I want to play on 360 are "Dead Rising" and "DOA4".

Link: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23761 Microsoft has reignited its war of words with arch rival Sony following the launch of PlayStation 3 in Europe, with UK boss Neil Thompson attacking the system’s price tag and Blu-ray functionality. Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz, Thompson dismissed suggestions that the PlayStation 3's in-built Blu-ray drive gives the machine a tactical advantage over Xbox 360. "Do I want to make people pay £200 extra for a machine with discs that have storage space I don’t need? My answer’s no, I don’t need to do that today," Thompson said. "And I don’t think I’m going to need to do that for quite a while." Thompson argued that the flexibility of 360, which allows users to upgrade their experiences over time, will be key to the console's success. "I’m not sure the market has moved to high definition [movies] yet," he said. "And if and when it does, then the way that we’ve constructed the offering we’ve made means we’ll be able to go whichever way we want." The inclusion of a Blu-ray drive in every PlayStation 3 unit has been cited as one of the reasons for the system’s hefty GBP425 price tag. The premium Xbox 360 unit carries a lower RRP of GBP 279.99, but does not allow users to play next-gen DVD movies out of the box. A separate HD-DVD drive must be purchased at a cost of GBP 129.99. Sony executives have been at pains to argue that the additional storage Blu-ray offers is also essential for games, as it means developers are freed from memory restrictions they may encounter on other platforms. But according to Thompson, Microsoft’s "nimble" hardware could adapt to anything the Sony console has in its arsenal. He cited the 360's latent ability to output in native 1080p - a feature previously only available on PS3. "I’d be really surprised if technologically, and we’re a software company, we couldn’t get to a situation where we can deliver whatever content we need to," he offered - adding that improved compression techniques and the ability to deliver content via Xbox Live would negate any disc storage issues in the future. "This is about the architecture of the hardware. With the PS3 you’ve got a big, heavy truck that requires a big, heavy engine. With Xbox you’ve got a much more nimble box that uses software in the architecture of the box in a much more nimble way." Thompson concluded, "That’s the difference between us and PlayStation - we didn’t have a need to develop a really complicated engine to get Blu-ray players into the market. We wanted to deliver HD gaming. Judge us on what we’ve done." -------------------------------------------------------- Your thoughts please.

I jumped over a small stream and got "posted" by the X-bar during landing.

Link: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23818 Priced at $479 and due for release April 29 Microsoft has unveiled a new model Xbox 360 for the US market, dubbed Xbox Elite and due to go on sale April 29. The new model comes in a black finish, as will the controller and other peripherals, and features a new 120GB hard-drive, as well as a HDMI port and bundled HDMI cable. The console will retail in North America for USD 479 (EUR 358 / GBP 243), with the hard-drive available at a stand alone price of USD 179 (EUR 134 / GBP 91). The separate hard-drive will also come with a data transfer cable allowing users to copy game saves, marketplace downloads and other content from the smaller 20GB drive. "Today's games and entertainment enthusiast has a insatiable appetite for digital high-definition content," commented Peter Moore, corporate vice president for Microsoft Xbox. "Xbox 360 Elite's larger drive and premium accessories will allow our community to enjoy all that the next-generation of entertainment has to offer," he added. Also included in the USD 479 package is a black Xbox Live headset, component/SD cable and a one month subscription to Xbox Live Gold. No details of the Xbox Elite have yet been announced for other regions. More images of the Xbox Elite can bee seen on our sister site Eurogamer.net

My order arrived today, I have never visited the park but I thought I'll be part of history and have a piece of track from one of the roughest coasters in the business. RIP Hurricane The whole plaque inc a piece of Hurricane's track Front of Plaque with 2 coins It's back side At the bottom on the reverse side 12 out of 100 ...!!

Wistron, the Taiwanese device manufacturer currently producing Xbox 360 units for Microsoft, is likely to halt production of the console during 2008, according to a report in the Economic Daily News. The company is likely to discontinue manufacturing of the console due to the decline in profits and because Microsoft has partnered with rival manufacturer Celistica, reports DigiTimes. Production of the Xbox 360 currently accounts for around 10 per cent of Wistron's business and it is thought halting production will not have any serious impact on the company. Wistron is expected to record revenues of TWD 280 billion (EUR 6.34 billion) in 2007. As well as Wistron and Celistica, Singapore-based Flextronics also manufactures the Xbox 360 for Microsoft. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

Ebay.co.uk had a rollercoaster wheel for sale last month, it was from the Vekoma "boomerang" at the former American Adventure in the Midlands. It was going for £20. I was going to bid for it, but I want a special coaster wheel say from the "Beast", "Grand National" and my fav "Wild Mouse". Keep watching www.ebay.com and www.ebay.co.uk

If it's a wooden coaster I sit at the Front (if not a big Q) or the back. 1st ride I sat at the back on the Beast On Steel I sit in the middle if it is a new coaster and then head towards to the back. It does depend on the coaster you are riding. Nemesis has to be the front row if the Q is short, if not then the back part of the train.

Everything should be 21 in the UK, the most car deaths are between 17 and 25. sex - 16 Get Married - 16 21 is fine and make the car test more difficult, next year there will be 100 questions for a UK car test.

Does 360 Elite produce 1080P or only do 1080i, is the HDMI at 1.3 level...? Can the Hard Drive be swapped out for a 500GB like the PS3 HDD..?

Looking so creamy and love those close up views of the track and banked corners, GCI will finish the circuit on time, just pray for no strong winds. Give a Southern England Park a GCI masterpiece with lovely fan-turns, not the North, they get everything while the south does not.

Nice shots of the coasters etc. I watched a DVD last week about GASM being built, the 1st test run and an interview with John C Allen who said it only took 53 sec's to complete a circuit. He also said it took him 6 hours to design it. GASM is one of the best looking woodies, love the paint work and to top it off the lake next to and underneath the ride. Nightime rides must be amazing. "Oakwood" should take note and produce an Out n Back (may build one for 2009 season) this lovely.

I'll give "Traum" a visit next time I am at Blackpool, but if it rides like "El Condor" at Walibi World there will not be a re-ride from me.

Lovely looking park and some nice shots. The price for Legoland Windsor in England can be up to £40 per person, I will not spend that much on an entrance ticket.

Give "Rocket" coaster lap bars instead of "ohr", your upper body is free to move around. The parks can use 1 train with Lap Bars and the other with ohr, the public can see which one works better and tell the park. Rita and Stealth do not need ohr, give em lap-bars and make the ride more enjoyable and not feel so restricted.

I agree with Janster about this kind of theaming for a ride, the people will come and re-visit as the feeling is so magical, even more than Disney's. I would rather have De Eftling having these types of rides with amazing theaming than a 15 inversion steelie or launched woodie. Leave the big rides inside the big parks, I would visit De Eftling more often than Thorpe Park which is slapped ontop of a sand quary with hardly any theaming. Thorpe Park needs to have more trees n plants, it looks so bare

I think the Helicopter is based an old "Sea-king" or "Puma" model. The cars could of been done in army desert colours, have some camerflarge netting in the station etc. Blue train is better than Red though. The ride will do very well at Heide, shame it's a clone and not a custom design. For the next design please take the brakes off the "hill" so the hill / helix combo can be taken at speed and everyone can get some before they come to a stop.

Good to see old "Traum" rebuilt again and getting tested at it's new home. I hope it is not 2 rough and some of the head banging has been reduced.